Hinge joint



Jan. 19, 1932. H. STEIFF 1,841,855

HINGE JOINT Filed March 5, 1931 /NVENTOR. HUGO 5 TE/FF.

Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES HUGO STEIFF, or wunm'rnivrnnno, GER ANY HINGE some Application filed March 5, 1931, SeriaI No. 520,353, and. in Germany January 16, 1931.

The invention relates to hinge joints for the connection of members which are required to be capable of angular movement in relation to each other but to retain certain alternative positions when moved into those positions. It is a common practice to use for this purpose a spring catch on one of the members, arranged to engage a notch in the other member when the parts are in a particular position.

According to my invention one of the two members to be connected to each other by the hinge joint has two springy limbs, which are separately and pivotally connected to the other member at two different portions thereof, generally close together, so that the two members, when either of them is free to move,

will only retain such relative positions as do not place the springy limbs under a stress which cannot be relieved by movement to a different position.

The invention is applicable to a great variety of purposes. One example is the attachment of limbs to the bodies of toy animals, and in this connection the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of atoy dog, and

Fig. 2 an elevation of a toy penguin.

Fig. 3 is a side view, to a larger scale, but

partly broken away, of a hinge used in the toy shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows part of one of the hinge members, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of this hinge.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a hinge used in the toy shown in Fig. 2, and i Fig. 7 is a face view thereof,

Fig. 8 showing part of one of the hinge members.

' at one end to form a small plate (4 (Figs.

3 and 4), in which there is a slot or a pair of holes 0, the slot or the line connecting the centers of theholes being in line with the axis of the rod a. The member I) is a piece of springy wire, bent to form two side limbs having inwardly directed extensions Z2 overlapping each other, as best shown in Fig. 5. These extensions pass respectively through animal and has a bent portion a within the a head, so that the head can be wagged by rocking the tail sideways.

In Fig. 8 one of the normal positions of the part Z) is shown in full lines, and the other normal position is shown in broken lines. By rocking the part b from the upper position, as indicated by an arrow, the springy limbs are stressed, resulting in distortion of the part b, more particularly by bending the extensions b. in opposite directions; this is due to the fact that the two limbs do not rotate about a common axis. Up to the time when the part b is in line with the part a the stress tends to make the part 6 swing back to its starting position. hen in line with the part a the part b is in a dead center position, and does not tend to swing in either direction, but when moved past this dead center it tends to swing to the position shown in broken lines. The tail of the dog can thus be made to point upwards or to hang down.

It will be clear that when the hinge is not incorporated with the toy the part b can also be folded over towards the part a, and that it will then be practically in a dead center position, which it will retain unless disturbed.

, In the modification shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 the slot, or thelin-e connecting the centers of the holes 0, is placed transversely of the axis of the part a. Consequently one of the normal positions of the part b is a position in alinement with the part a, as shown in full lines in Fig. 6. By rocking the part b from this position, as indicated in Fig. 6 by an arrow, the part is movedto dead center position approximately perpendicular to the part a. When moved past this position the part Z) tends to swing upwards. The tail of loo the penguin shown in Fig. 2 can thus be made to retain the position in which it is shown in the drawings, or to retain a position in which it is folded upwards against 5 the rump of the bird.

What I claim as my invention and desire to seeure by Letters Patent of the United StatflliS-e A joint comprising two hinge members,

one of said hin members being a substantially closed ball of spring material havingtwo adjacent ends, the ends of the bail engaging the other hinge member at two separate ivot points adjacent each; other,;e.nd

the in erent springiness of the bail tending .ta hol d the-same in'either of two alternative end gwsitiens relative to said" other hinge mom 0, 01. in an intermediatedeadcenter 7 position, so that when the bail is moved'from either of said and positions, past said dead centeri position it will tend to move to the otha-end position;

HUGO STEIFF. 

